Core catcher for Belarusian nuclear station on its way

Atommash, the Volgodonsk-based division of the Russian company ZAO AEM Technologies has shipped a core catcher for the first power-generating unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant, BelTA learned from the press service of OAO Atomenergomash, a group of companies run by the Russian state corporation Rosatom. AEM Technologies is Atomenergomash’s branch of charge of manufacturing reactor equipment and shell equipment.

The core catcher will be delivered to the Belarusian nuclear power plant by road and by river. The product will have to cross Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. The product will be transported for over 5,000km between a special pier in Volgodonsk to a special pier in Belarus.

Once assembled, the metal structure will be 14m high, 6.5m in diameter and will weigh about 750 tonnes. The packaging will keep the product safe during transportation and during storage at the construction site for a long time. Automobiles were used to deliver major heavy components of the core catcher from the factory to the Volgodonsk pier for reloading to a cargo vessel.

Atommash, the Volgodonsk-based division of the Russian company ZAO AEM Technologies, boasts a long history of making core catchers. The first two devices were made and shipped for the first and second power-generating units of the Novovoronezh nuclear power plant in 2010. The third one was made for the first unit of the Baltic nuclear power plant in 2012. Work is underway to make the second core catcher for the second power-generating unit of the Belarusian nuclear power plant.

The core catcher is a special device designed to keep a nuclear power plant safe. In an emergency the device is meant to protect underlying structures from the thermomechanical impact of molten mass, which temperature can exceed 2,000C. The core catcher will prevent radioactive elements from leaking into the outside world if an accident happens.

ZAO AEM Technologies was founded in 2007 as part of OAO Atomenergomash. The daughter enterprise AEM Technologies operates the head engineering office of AEM Technologies in Saint Petersburg, OAO Petrozavodskmash, and the branch in Volgodonsk (Atommash). The product choice grows larger all the time and now includes equipment for the nuclear industry, heat power engineering, gas, oil, and chemical industries. The company specializes in the wholesale manufacture of nuclear reactors, engineering and consulting services, including the design of the basic equipment for nuclear power plants.

OAO Atomenergomash is a leading power machines manufacturer of Russia and is the mechanical engineering division of the Russian state corporation Rosatom in charge of making machines for the power industry. Atomenergomash provides effective comprehensive solutions for nuclear power industry, heat power industry, gas, oil, and chemical industries. The company comprises about 30 major manufacturing, research, and engineering enterprises in Russia and other countries.